It's been my experience with various versions of Premiere over many years that you can never go backwards. Projects made in older versions of Premiere can always be opened in newer versions, but not the reverse.

However...you might be able to do this: have your associate Export as Final Cut Pro XML format (File > Export > FCP XML).

You can create a New Project, then open the XML file using IMPORT. I've heard of this before, but had never tried it. Just did, and it worked! No guarantee that all effects and transitions will translate perfectly, but for cuts everything should be the same. Certainly worth a try.